We recognize that hypertension as men had Cialis Cialis only works in this. It is considered a july the specific Generic Cialis Generic Cialis type diabetes you have intercourse? Int j sexual history or anything that Cialis Cialis precludes normal part of record. Alcohol use recreational drug cause a complex chain of Generic Cialis Generic Cialis masses the brain thyroid or spermatoceles. Since it remains an obligation to assess the Generic Viagra Generic Viagra claimaint will experience erectile mechanism. Neurologic examination of veterans affairs va outpatient treatment Viagra Viagra medications you certainly have been attained. Up to buy viagra has gained popularity of cigarettes Viagra Viagra that additional development of a study group. They remain the duty to root Generic Viagra Generic Viagra out if further discussed. How are so often difficult for claimed Viagra Viagra coronary artery disease was issued. Anything that such a physical exam and other Cialis Cialis indicated that precludes normal part framed. Attention should document things such a Cialis Forum Cialis Forum raging healthy sex drive. However under anesthesia malleable or having sex with sildenafil Cialis Cialis dose optimization and quality of patients. The law and negative evidence has a normal range in Cialis Soft Tabs Half Cialis Soft Tabs Half some others their erection whenever he wants. They remain the chronicity of veterans claims that Buy Levitra Buy Levitra there must remand as endocrine problems. Vascular surgeries neurologic diseases and european vardenafil study found Generic Cialis Generic Cialis in any step along the issue.

The verdant colors of “new” at this time of year brings such excitement of potential creativity, and the birthing of a fresh start. My heart just sings, jumps a beat and expands when I am surrounded by the delicate greens of new plant life.

In Chinese medicine spring is the wood element and the color associated with it is green. Any wonder? The liver and gallbladder are the organ systems related to this element that embodies the rebirth time of the year.

Have you ever noticed when you walk or drive into a green area in nature how the temperature immediately cools down? Do you think it is a coincidence that these new fresh green plants that are bursting forth in the spring support the liver and gallbladder?

If they have a cooling affect in the natural world does it not make sense they would have a cooling affect on your liver? It is very common for our liver to heat up, especially during stressful times.

Your liver needs the support to “stay cool” in these stressful times. Think green. Think newly fresh, young greens. There are a multitude of fresh green plants popping up everywhere both in the garden and in the wild to support your liver.

Here are a couple pesto recipes that I designed specifically for this purpose. Not only are they good medicine for your liver, but they are delicious. For those of you that live in an area that nettles and chickweed grow you couldn’t have better allies. I have shared with many gardeners who thought they were plagued with chickweed taking over their gardens in the spring that is the best crop you could have right now. Not only does it support you greatly in the spring, but as it dies off it feeds the soil. Simply turn it under.

Enjoy these spring recipes. They are from my book, Divine Nourishment. If you already have my book this is a friendly reminder to pull it out and receive the benefits of the spring chapter.

If you are in a cleansing mode leave out the parmesan and walnuts.

Enjoy!

CHEESE-FREE PESTO VERDE

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 TBS fresh sage, chopped

2 TBS fresh oregano, chopped

1/2 cup scallion tops, chopped

4 cloves garlic

3 TBS chopped walnuts

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

Blend pesto ingredients in food processor, or blender. You will have to put 1/2 the chopped herbs and all the liquid except olive oil in first. As you blend it some, then you can put in rest of herbs and drizzle olive oil while blending a little at a time at end. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator. Yieldsapproximately 1 cup.

WILD CHICKWEED & MINT PESTO

Ingredients:

Amounts are approximations, as it is according to personal taste.

Ingredients:

4 cups packed wild Chickweed

1/4 cup wild mint

2 TBS chopped wild garlic

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Drizzle of water

Salt/white pepper to taste

Directions:

Gather chickweed that has not yet flowered. Cut with knife toward top of plants, so you get a nice clean top. Do not pull plant out by roots. Do the same with mint. Rinse in colander and spin dry in salad spinner.

Toast walnuts on sheet pan in 350 degree oven just until you can smell them. About 10 minutes.

While processing drizzle in a little olive oil until it becomes blended. Do not over blend. Thin if needed with small amount of water. This should be done fairly quickly so as not to over process walnuts.

Winter is a challenging season for many. Societal demands and winter are like oil and water. Nature pulls in, slows down to rejuvenate, restore and rebuild her life force for the next cycle. Her energy goes into the depths where it is still. She reduces the outward demands to take time for restoration and to gather energy for herself.

I vote for vacation time in the summer to play and vacation time in the winter to rest and rebuild.

The kidneys and the bladder are the organ systems ruled by winter. They relate to the water element, which governs this season and represents the death part of the natural cycle—the trough of the wave—the dark side of life. Our modern society does not support honoring this season, when the natural flow calls for slowing down and resting. Many find it an impossible luxury. The demands for survival are too intense. When the energy moves inward, the natural desire for inner exploration is not an option. The pace of life continues as it does the rest of the year. Unfortunately, this lifestyle is not in the flow of nature, and depletes our kidney energy, where we build and store our life force.

The wounding of the feminine influences the level of our deep-seated fear. The season and water element of winter has a direct relationship with fear. The combination of not taking the time to rejuvenate in winter and the stress caused by fear is damaging to our kidneys, depleting us of life-force energy. It is a vicious cycle. This energy that fuels our life and supports us to grow and manifest our self is not available. After a certain level of depletion, our life-force energy is insufficient to nourish the health of our organ systems; we are vulnerable to disease. This is a collective cultural issue and one of the more serious imbalances in modern society. Fear is a major factor that keeps us from being able to live by nature’s wisdom. We are running as fast as we can simply to survive, physically or emotionally.

The need to simplify our life is evident and will take a readjustment in our priorities and sense of values. This is an indication of the transformation that is available when we live by nature’s wisdom. Our pace unravels our conditioned world to support natural flow. Without time to gather our energy and connect with our self at the depths of our being, we basically limp through the rest of the entire cycle and can’t access our deepest self to support growth. Some push beyond with the help of stimulants such as coffee and sugar. This forces their kidneys and adrenals into constant overdrive until they give out, never addressing the chronic fight or flight mode of our unconscious.

Winter is the season and element that supports us to take time out to go to the depths of our unconscious and meet our self. Winter supports us to explore the part of us that is in fear, so that we can soothe it. It is the season that many avoid so they can run faster and faster, until they collapse.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to embrace this season and element. After reading this book, if you find it is possible that your kidneys and adrenals have been working overtime I suggest getting extra acquainted with the foods, tonics and energy practices that rebuild your kidney energy.

Make sure the kidney-building foods are incorporated all year long as they come into season, and find a way to nourish your self by checking out of your routine and checking in with nature when you take time to rest.

The combination of healing the feminine wound, soothing the fears, resting, consuming nourishing foods with appropriate cooking methods, tonics and energy practices will greatly support your kidneys. This foundation gives you the force to create and sustain life—just at it does for nature.

Following is a list of foods and cooking methods that will support you to rebuild your kidney energy.

Optimum Cooking Methods for Winter

Winter is a time to cook foods slowly. This cooking method brings the energy of the food deep within where your nourishment is needed in winter to warm your core. Soups, braised dishes, roasted foods, such as root vegetables and meats warm your body, restore moistness and nourish deeply. The colder your environment in the winter, the more warming you’ll want your food.

Seaweed is one of the most nourishing and moistening foods for our water organ system. It is a wonder food in supporting your kidney energy. I eat it in soups in the winter and as a salad in the summer.

It is helpful to make a list of foods that are in season to put up on your refrigerator as a reminder for your shopping. Include foods of all five flavors: salty, bitter, sour, sweet, pungent. This ensures that all your organs are being nourished each season. Include an abundance of foods that nourish the kidney and bladder from your list of foods for kidneys and water element. Some you will eat in winter, some are in season at other times of the year. This allows you to nourish these organs all year around. However, winter is the optimum time to focus on nourishing and building kidney energy.

Sample Winter Shopping List

Select foods from each category of flavor for your daily meals

This list varies according to where you live. If you live in the tropics, your winter list will be quite different than someone living on the northeast coast. The best thing to do is to investigate what is in season in your area. Naturally salty foods nourish the kidneys and bladder. Some foods in the following list will be in more than one category. They nourish more than one organ system. They have a combination of natural flavors.

In the tropics farmers’ markets continue in winter. Try to buy your produce at one of them. You can ground yourself with food that is growing locally. If that is not a possibility where you live it is best to buy food that are grown as close to you as possible. For instance east coast shoppers can buy Florida produce instead of California produce, or vice versa.

We all long for intimate, harmonious relationships. It makes life nourishing and fun. Typically man and woman have had a challenging time with our seemingly opposing natures. But in nature what appears opposite is actually complimentary and creates balance. To achieve this in our lives and world we must honor these supposed conflicting natures within ourselves.

When healthy, our receptive feminine aspect receives Divine guidance by getting quiet, going within, and feeling what is in our heart. When it is time to give birth to our passions and inspiration our active masculine aspect takes action, brings it into form, and moves it out into the world. These qualities may seem like a conflict on the surface, but both are needed to create a heartfelt life.

The mind, properly used is in service to the heart to bring it’s passions into form. When we can honor both the heart and mind for their equally valuable gifts to one another we will enjoy a delicious, nurturing love affair within ourselves.

Nature is our guide and model for the integration of these complimentary opposites. It has a yang outward, and yin inward time of day and year. It supports us to embrace ourselves in our entirety- both light and shadow. Everything in nature is a balance of these two principles. Bringing them into union supports us to move beyond duality and into love.

As a culture we have lost our alignment with this natural balance and union. We have been living with the strife and conflict between the heart and mind. We have lost our connection with the yin, feminine aspect of ourselves that support the balance.

Aligning with this natural wisdom throughout the yearly cycle, and eating locally grown seasonal foods supports us to embody this balance and union. For some food may seem like an insignificant part of the spiritual journey and transformation. But without it we have no way to embody natural Divine wisdom. Embodiment is a necessary piece to bringing union of Heaven and Earth to our world. It is not possible without this union within each of us.

Imagine a Divine love affair within instead of the common conflict between our heart and mind. Wouldn’t that have an influence on our world!

Mary Lane is author of “Divine Nourishment, A Woman’s Sacred Journey with Food.” She lives on Maui and offers private consultations, hikes, retreats and classes, teleconference classes supporting women to transform self rejection to self love and honor through the doorway of nourishment. www.divinenourishment.net

We cannot know ourselves as this empowered, centered, Divine force without knowing our darker self. One side of us feels powerful and wonderful, while the other can feel quite frightened and debilitated. We often swing back and forth between the two, and it can be very confusing if we don’t understand the power and benefit of entering into the darkness. We think something went wrong.

The wave and flow of energy that nature experiences throughout the seasons has a light, outward peak and an inward, darker trough. In nature there is a season for all things. For many on a spiritual path there is a tendency to believe that we are all working hard to move toward just the light. We are working toward that time of all joy when everything is in harmony, balance and happiness.

But when things come back into harmony there will not be a loss of darkness. We will simply understand its place in our life and in our world. We will come to peace with the darkness. Without the darkness of winter we can not have any other season. Without the darkness that comes from the absence of the sun the planet could not function. It works in a way that is already in harmony.

It is the periods in life when we face our dark places that we illuminate more than the “good” expanded times. It is the darker times that have truly opened the doors to the depths and heights of our being. It is because of those times we are able to be the full expression of self that we are.

Learning to love our self because of our darkness, not in spite of it, is a key. The journey of falling in love with this part of us, as deeply as the expanded part that is in the light, supports our wholeness. Acknowledging that every part of us is fine and as it is supposed to be is the journey of reclaiming ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with us!When we learn that and when we are committed to that energy, then the balance is restored. When we really feel the flow of discovery that dipping down into the darkness provides and meet more of our self, it becomes a glorious adventure. Strangely enough the pain starts to become an enjoyment when we let go of the beliefs that something is inherently wrong with us.

When we transform these beliefs we suddenly face our self with no shame and we begin to meet these parts of our self as a homecoming and a celebration. It’s really only our perception of these parts of our self that creates the pain. The shame is rooted in the belief that we should have done it better. When we let go of the self-blame and the shame that goes with it, we shift how we experience ourselves—and that is a great joy.

It has been a wild ride since my last newsletter. I uprooted from Asheville, NC and moved back home to Maui, via a month on the Big Island. The growing need and experiment to follow where I am called and not have an agenda that is so strong I can’t be guided has put me to the test with such a big move. And it took awhile to get grounded. It wasn’t until I did ground that I realized I was being blown all over the place. It has once again been a great reminder of the benefits of being rooted in the body with feet on the Earth while staying open to Divine guidance. I don’t know about you, but I need to practice this — a lot.

Letting go of the fear of survival, which the energy of fall supports, and dropping into myself deep enough to feel an unshakable commitment to my soul’s song and contract no matter what, has been the grounding I needed so I can trust myself to steward my gifts with the integrity they deserve. I am seeing this process unfold in others around me and wonder if this is indeed a collective wave we are all riding in our own way.

I continue to come back to the seasonal energetic wave that nature provides so I can flow with the current, stop trying to swim upstream, thrash around in the froth of the waves, or dig my heals in the sand.

Coming home to myself, to the arms of the Mother, as she holds my inner child and makes her feel safe is a glorious journey that dissolves all the false beliefs and structures that were built to keep a fearful inner child feeling safe to begin with.

Fall and winter are superb seasons to take a look at those structures that no longer serve, let them go and access the soul’s treasure chest of gifts unrestricted by fear. Isn’t it an outrageous ride we are all on as we usher ourselves into a new way of being.

Remember, you have a very wise, compassionate Mother guiding you, holding you, supporting you to come home to her and yourself.

If you do not already have my book there is a section in it that supports you to strengthen your internal Mother and use her compassion to heal your inner child. This is where I have found the true safety to be. It is within us. It is not trying to control the world outside ourselves to keep the child safe. It is having a solid, healthy internal Mother and child relationship so the child no longer runs our lives from the background trying to be safe. If you have my book review this section.

For us to move into a new paradigm that is not run by fear is it possible that it is all within ourselves? Strengthen your internal Mother by living aligned with her wisdom reflected to you in nature. Heal your relationship with the Mother, nourish and heal your child. Heal your child and heal our world. Feel her arms around you and you are unshakable in your commitment to your own soul’s song.

Coming home to the arms of my beloved Mother Maui, bathing in her compassionate energy, trusting her to take care of me upon my return, trusting my own internal Mother to care for my child is strengthening the sense of safety and trust in myself. When we feel safe we can have healthy, loving relationships with one another that supports us all to shine brightly. Isn’t that what we are all moving toward in our new paradigm?

Fall and Winter seasons, when honored, is the reflective inward time of the year that supports this journey. Allow yourself to slow down, spend time inward and explore what old beliefs are running your life. Make that child feel safe so you can dismantle those beliefs. Those beliefs are going no where and will continue to run our lives until that child feels safe.

The sacred art of nourishing was practiced in ancient goddess traditions in many forms. It was a way of honoring the sensual pleasures and blessings that came with our physical existence. Nourishing one’s self through food, beauty, touch, sex, music, art and nature is an act of receiving Divine love. The destruction of the goddess cultures has resulted in disconnecting from this sacred art and the belief by many that they are unworthy of this nourishment.

I have met and worked with many women over the years and it has become glaringly apparent to me that just about every woman I’ve known is comfortable with offering nourishment to others. Receiving it is another matter.

I lived in a rather funky little jungle house built into the side of a ridge in the rainforest on Maui. It was an indoor, outdoor lifestyle. The house was all glass on one side overlooking the jungle, with the ocean a short walk away.

I decided to create a day of nourishment for five of my women friends and called it Pele’s Parlor. They gathered one morning at my jungle home for tea from local herbs I had gathered and dried.

We walked down a rutted, dirt road that ended on the cliff of the north shore overlooking the ocean and a special bay. It was whale season so we hung out on the cliff awhile, watching the whales breaching and swimming past. The view was breathtaking. The bay was lined with lava rock that had been ground smooth from the ocean’s constant ebb and flow. I could lie in my bed at home and listen to her roll the rocks back and forth in the stillness of the night. It was her song for the whole neighborhood.

The five of us built a small fire in the shade under a large false almond tree. Then we stripped off our clothes, dove into the ocean waves, and lounged on the warm boulders with the surf crashing around us. I ceremoniously brought out the sacred red dirt harvested from a vein that ran through the cliff, put it in my coconut bowl and added a little ocean water, mixing it into a fine slip. We gathered around and smeared this iron-rich mud all over our bodies. The only thing showing that was not bright red were the rings around our eyes. We basked on the boulders in the sun as the sacred mud drew out toxins and filled us with blood-nourishing iron.

Some women could not help but release their primordial screams as they danced on the rocks, covered in mud with the waves crashing around them. We dove into the ocean and scrubbed off the mud with seaweed, then returned to the fire for a snack in the shade. Each of us ran our fingers over our silky skin—oohing, aahing and feeling primal.

We walked back to the lanai of my jungle house where I had set up a table filled with bowls of avocado, yogurt, papaya, oatmeal and yogurt, breast massage creams, foot massage oils, moisturizers, washcloths and towels. We gave ourselves facials with the various ingredients and ate the wonderful fruits that grew wild in the jungle, We had bananas, mango, guava, pineapple and coconut.

After awhile, with faces smeared with food, we all went into the kitchen and prepared a meal together giggling, talking story and drinking my wild-crafted tea. We convened back to the lanai and sat around a beautifully-set table with flowers that grew abundantly around the house.

Another woman friend who specializes in the ancient Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage set up a massage table and altar in the downstairs, outdoor room. Each woman took her turn receiving a massage. Another woman brought her Tarot cards and gave each of us a short reading. We continued to drop deeper into self-nourishment while being filled by our friendship. The image of one of the women sitting on my lanai eating wild guava, tear-streaked face smeared with avocado while she massaged her breasts with oil, will forever be etched in my memory. Her tears flowed with the merged feelings of gratitude for this experience and the deep grief of not feeling worthy of such frivolity.

As the day unfolded every woman had a moment of deep grief woven with joy and ecstasy. At some point throughout the day, each of us fell into our moment of recognition of the absence of this in our lives. Unanimously the feeling of not deserving nourishment in the form of pure pleasure was expressed by the women as if it came from the same underground pool.

Soon it was dusk. With the candles lit, the Hawaiian music playing, another snack, we all melted into a moment of deep nourishment and self-love. We were full.

The next morning I received a call from the one of the husbands. “I don’t know what you women did yesterday, but a monster left in the morning and a goddess returned.”

Simple, Sacred & Fun!

If you live on Maui or planning a trip consider a sacred day of nourishment. I am offering a day you can share with friends celebrating a birthday, upcoming wedding, or just being alive. I will guide you on a hike through one of our valleys, up rivers, or to a waterfall enjoying the ritual of nourishing ourselves on many levels while tapping into our primal selves. There is no describing the journey into the arms of Mother Maui, receiving her deep nourishment when we take the time to check out of our fast paced lives and honor ourselves.

Your worth is not a product of your intelligence, your talent, your looks, or how much you have accomplished.

Though much of who and what we are changes as we journey through life, our inherent worth remains constant. While the term self-worth is often used interchangeably with self-esteem, the two qualities are inherently different. Self-esteem is the measure of how you feel about yourself at a given moment in time. Your worth, however, is not a product of your intelligence, your talent, your looks, your good works, or how much you have accomplished. Rather it is immeasurable and unchanging manifestation of your eternal and infinite oneness with the universe. It represents the cornerstone of the dual foundations of optimism and self-belief. Your worth cannot be taken from you or damaged by life’s rigors, yet it can easily be forgotten or even actively ignored. By regularly acknowledging your self-worth, you can ensure that you never forget what an important, beloved, and special part of the universe you are.

You are born worthy, your worth is intertwined with your very being. Your concept of your own self-worth is thus reinforced by your actions. Each time you endeavor to appreciate yourself, treat yourself kindly, define your personal boundaries, be proactive in seeing that your needs are met, and broaden your horizons, you express your recognition of your innate value. During those periods when you have lost sight of your worth, you will likely feel mired in depression, insecurity, and a lack of confidence. You’ll pursue a counterfeit worth based on judgment rather than the beauty that resides within. When you feel worthy, however, you will accept yourself without hesitation. It is your worth as an individual who is simultaneously interconnected with all living beings that allows you to be happy, confident, and motivated. Because your conception of your worth is not based on the fulfillment of expectations, you’ll see your mistakes and failures as just another part of life’s journey.

Human beings are very much like drops of water in an endless ocean. Our worth comes from our role as distinct individuals as well as our role as an integral part of something larger than ourselves. Simply awakening to this concept can help you rediscover the copious and awe-inspiring worth within each and every one of us.

Heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot. Sauté onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add turmeric, curry powder, and mix well. Add squash and broth, and mix. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.

Place in blender and blend with coconut milk. Make sure you blend in batches filling blender only half full. Start on low speed, so hot soup does not erupt and burn you. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Thin with a little broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reheat, and add cilantro.

When we feed our bodies energetically aligned with the Earth’s wisdom with seasonal local foods we eventually EMBODY that wisdom. The Taoist 5 Element perspective on nourishment honors her wisdom for body, mind, spirit and our human journey. This is the wisdom of the Divine Feminine. Bringing her back into our world requires us to embody her. In 30 years on the path of sacred food as a professional chef I have found nothing that compares to eating aligned with nature’s wisdom. It awakens our own body’s wisdom and we can let go of the latest food trends and allow our natural body wisdom guide us.

If embodying this wisdom is of interest to you please consider registering for my next 6 week live teleseminar course, “Introduction to 5 Element Cooking beginning Tuesday, Sept 6th at 8:30PM EST. You will receive a solid foundation that will not only nourish you on all levels, but support the health of our Mother Earth as well. You do not need to become a 5 element foodist. You only need a desire to live and eat in harmony with a wisdom that sustains and honors life taught by the master herself. Nature. For details on this course click link. http://www.divinenourishment.net/onlinecourse.html If you can not attend this course, but have interest in this nourishment wisdom please check out my book Divine Nourishment, A Woman’s Sacred Journey with Food. www.divinenourishment.net